Nevada Day Parade grand marshals celebrate state’s beauty

Nevada Day Parade grand marshals Dave Santina and Chris Orr, PBS Reno’s “Wild Nevada” co-hosts, share the same love of Nevada, if a differing manner of enjoyment about it, when it comes to recreational activities.

Santina isn’t an “outdoorsy” person but likes to help anyone living in or passing through the Silver State to learn what’s special about it.

“I think it’s a pretty evergreen notion,” he said. “I’ve gone out to see the beautiful places like Lamoille Canyon (in Elko County), and the views (of the Ruby Mountains) are just so spectacular.”

Orr, a hiker who has scaled Wheeler Peak in White Pine County, described herself as “giddy” at the chance to serve in the parade with Santina, said she’s been looking forward to it for months.

“It goes back to my work on the show,” Orr said. “As a non-native to the state, the show has really given me an opportunity to explore this place. I came to Nevada when I was in high school, and it became very clear to me that I didn’t want to go anywhere else.”

The pair received their start on “Wild Nevada” with a pilot episode, and the show blossomed first into a full four seasons and went without any shows for 12 years. But it didn’t stop there.

Although it has been broadcasting for 23 years, Santina said, it’s kept on for a total of six seasons, with the pandemic putting a serious pause on some of its work.

“It’s easy to watch a show like this and use it as inspiration,” he said. “It’s easy to see the appeal of a program and be inspired to go somewhere travel-like and enjoy it vicariously. … I’m not an outdoorsy person, but I’m a good substitute for the viewers.”

Orr says every adventure is a chance to enjoy something different and come up with original content. Any time she can help someone new to Nevada understand its intricacies is a boon for its residents.

“Every time we go to a location, it’s always going to be different,” she said. “For me, that’s why I’m so passionate about the project. When you have audiences that want the content, it’s very important to deliver good content.”

Santina said with eight new programs being produced in December, viewers will have a chance to see episodes about Pyramid Lake, the Spring Mountains, the Valley of Fire and Beneficial Designs, Inc., an adaptive equipment company in Minden, a rehabilitation research and design firm that provides trail assessment and mapping services for the outdoors.

Santina described visiting the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument, or Spirit Mountain, in the Mojave Desert, considered a sacred space by the Mojave, Chemehuevi and Southern Paiute. The area provides more than 506,800 acres of land and access to hunting, trapping, wildlife and other activities, and Santina said he and Orr toured the area in March.

“We got to spend a day with three Native American representatives at the site that was sacred, and it was an eye-opening experience,” he said. “I got to see that space in a different light.”

Wherever the crews go, Santina said, Nevada’s locations are visually stunning. He described visits to the Sutro tunnel in Dayton to check out its Comstock mining history and current restoration work. For the first time, he also described a visit to Mount Rose and stopped at a waterfall to allow Orr, an avid hiker, to explore its summit, even if he’s less enthusiastic about outdoor adventures, he said.

“Not everybody will have the same ability,” he said.

Orr said she looked forward to taking part in the parade especially with the theme because she feels like she is a native Nevadan now.

“Home means Nevada to me now,” she said. “I feel like I have Nevada in my blood. I have all the miles I’ve put on. Between my hiking boots and tires, I feel it really is home to me.”

Santina said he hopes they’ll encourage parade participants with their show.

“I think if you have an annual parade that celebrates Nevada, it seems like a natural pairing to celebrate a program during the day that celebrates Nevada,” Santina said. “I think it works well.”